Social Media’s Impact on Your Online Reputation

Social media is the greatest blessing bestowed upon savvy PR firms in the history of marketing. Viral marketing has never been easier. Hundreds of millions can be repeatedly reached with a single click. But social media is simply a platform. Businesses and individuals still need firms such as 5WPR to help them make the most of this incredible tool and protect them from the pitfalls.

Passive Interaction Creates Active Interest

Social media increases passive interaction with your products or services. Word of mouth has always been the most effective way to get your message out. A consumer simply cruising Facebook, Twitter or YouTube may happen to read your content and, if it is positioned correctly, that consumer is compelled to immediately apply that message. A top PR firm like 5WPR can help you with your positioning.

Coupled with instant sharing features, social media transforms virtual strangers into enthusiastic advocates countless times every single day. But this cutting edge communication tool slices both ways.

Instant Reactions Can Cause Problems

Social media offers an instant outlet for compulsive reactions, which can promote or damage your online reputation in real time. A positive experience can drive countless new customers and fans to your brand. But one PR mistake can turn you into a laughingstock.

When it was announced that the IOC was considering cutting wrestling from the 2020 Summer Olympics, social media exploded with unbridled derision. The single decision will now come up again and again over the next seven years, burying the IOC in mountains of bad press and near constant fan vitriol. What does nearly a decade of shock, anger and disdain translate into? Rage and apathy. Some fans will never forgive the IOC. Others will simply switch the channel.

Worst of all, the IOC’s literal champions, medal winners stretching back decades, are now at odds with them. While gymnastics and swimming are the current Summer Games media darlings, this collective reaction invites media attention, and might just make wrestling relevant again…at a time when the sport’s greatest proponents have a very large bone to pick with the IOC. It will be interesting to see how the Committee packages its response.